Wahl Color Pro

So, you’ve decided to test the waters with your very first clipper for home use. You want something easy, simple and with just enough variety. If it’s on a budget, even better.

In short, you’re probably thinking of the Wahl 79300-400 Color Pro haircutting kit. It’s so popular with a reason, and that reason involves both its price and capabilities.

Yet you should know a few additional things to make a more informed choice. This review will also look at how the cordless Color Pro differs from the corded one. I’ll compare the Color Pro vs Chrome Pro too.

Wahl Color Pro haircut kit: what you get in the box

Before getting to the fine details of how the Color Pro performs and its cordless version, let’s look at what the clipper Santa has got in stock for you:

The Wahl 79300 clipper itself

Barber comb, styling comb and scissors

Typical maintenance items: blade oil, cleaning brush, blade guard

A set of combs #1/2 to #8 (1/16″ or 1.5mm to 1″ or 25mm in size)

Left & right ear tapers

Ear trim comb

A total bargain considering you’ll be paying as much as you would for a single haircut at the barber’s, no?

What’s really neat is you’ve got colored combs here. Is it that important? Probably not, but it’s very convenient to just grab the color you need instead of going through all combs every time.

This is especially true if you want to use this as a family clipper and all members prefer a different haircut length. Most of the time you’ll be using the #4 (orange) and #5 (yellow) guides for easy cuts. #1 (1/8″, red) and #2 (1/4″, purple) are for shorter buzzcuts.

With the what’s in the box part ticked off, let’s venture onward to how the Wahl Color Pro gets the job done.

Corded and cordless Color Pro: how are they different?

The corded Color Pro has the typical Wahl design – slightly bulky, with wider upper part for easier handling. What you’ll love here is the blue rubberized grip in the middle section of the clipper.

This will allow for firm grasp of the cutting machine and will minimize slipping. On the same blue section you have the “Color Key”, reminding you what comb corresponds to what length.

On the side, you have the clipper side lever. Pulling it upwards or downwards will further control the length of your cuts.

A solid cord that doesn’t weigh too much will provide you with freedom of movement. You can plug this machine (120V/60HZ) without worrying too much about mobility.

As for the cordless Color Pro…

The Color Pro cordless version retains the overall capabilities of the standard model. However, it gives you the unmatched convenience of a cord-free home haircut.

The battery should last you for up to 60 minutes. Keep in mind it isn’t a Lithium-ion one, but the older NiMH battery technology. However, the price compensates for this.

There’s two very important other differences. First, you can remove and rinse the blades of the cordless model. This saves quite a lot of time – many people dread post-haircut clipper cleaning.

A lot of hairs can get stuck in the blades no matter how careful you are. As you can guess, this might compromise the longevity of your hair cutter.

Secondly, the cordless Color Pro has a more modern-looking, ergonomic design. The middle part has gone through a special renovation. The clipper just looks slick, like a Color Pro v.2:

The only significant drawback here is that the cordless Color Pro clipper doesn’t have a side lever. You can’t “open” or “close” the blade to control the cuts like the corded one.

That said, you still receive a full set of Wahl guards, so it’s not that big of a deal!

Wahl 79300: performance and haircut quality

The Wahl Color pro hair clipper comes with self-sharpening stainless steel blades. The self-sharpening part doesn’t mean you have to neglect oiling the blades, though.

Generally, you want to perform blade oiling per every 3-4 haircuts to ensure their optimal performance. You’d do that more often if the blades weren’t the self-sharpening type.

Honestly, Wahl Color Pro isn’t that remarkable in terms of performance. It’s perfect for simple cuts and buzzcuts, but don’t expect intense action from its blades and motor.

What you receive here is a variety of cutting tools on a ridiculously cheap price. You won’t be getting any barber-grade haircut quality from the Color Pro clipper.

In other words, if you want to do more specific stuff like fade haircutsor seek the mobility of a cordless clipper, look elsewhere. If you’re ok with easy haircuts and simplicity, the Wahl 79300-400 is a fine choice.

Wahl Color Pro vs Chrome Pro

Speaking of affordable haircutting kits, Wahl also have their Chrome Pro model. We’ve reviewed the Deluxe version that includes a hair trimmer and a few other things.

The standard Chrome Pro kit comes with a few things you won’t find with the Color Pro. Namely, a barber cape, a flattop comb, neck duster and hair clips.

In terms of performance, I’d say both models are quite similar. The advantage of the Chrome model would be less overheating problems and better sturdiness. It might be worth it to consider making an upgrade here.

Weak points of Wahl 79300 clipper

At this model’s pricing point, you can expect to meet a few problematic things. Depending on your preferences, they can make it or break it for you.

First of all, the clipper is heavy considering its power output. Higher performance clipper kits like the Wahl Elite Pro are also heavy, but they make up for it with their capabilities. Here it is:

Second, you’ll notice that the Color Pro is both loud and vibrates a lot. If you use it as a kid’s clipper and your child prefers silent machines, that might be a problem. Vibrations are 50/50, most people get used to them eventually.

Last but not least, the side lever controlling the cutting length is worse than usual Wahl clippers. It feels flimsy and you have to be careful when operating with it.

Final verdict

For budget-seekers and folks who want a simple clipper ready for home use, the Color Pro 79300-400 is a reasonable choice.

With its colored combs and self-sharpening blades, it will take care of any easy cut or buzzcut in no time. Family members can get their length assigned easily which saves quite a bit of hassle.

If you want to perform something more complicated, though, you have to look elsewhere. Wahl Color Pro was never meant to be a professional clipper. At its price range, you can’t really expect it to be either. All in all, a solid pick for self-haircut newbies.

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7 Comments

ADITYA S on February 27, 2017 at 1:11 pm

Hi. I’ve been using Wahl Color Pro for 6 months but not satisfied with the blade. It sometimes pulls thick hair. Which one do you suggest, buy corded Wahl Super Taper or just replace the old Wahl Color Pro blade with the Wahl Super Taper blade? Thanks

I’m not surprised – the Color Pro really is a pretty limited clipper as Alex has pointed out in the review.

You can do that – the Super Taper blade, while different than the Precision blade of the Color Pro, should fit right in. I haven’t tested it personally, but both are two hole blades and pretty standard for Wahl.

It’ll also be cheaper. Just make sure you know how to replace the blades and align them properly!

By the way, if you’re considering a Super Taper, I’d recommend going a few bucks above and just getting a Wahl Magic Clip. It beats it in every possible way.

The motor is different – Color Pro comes with the so called ‘Heavy duty motor’ (rather weak, actually); the Super Taper has the V5000 motor. Super Taper is at least twice the powerful.

On the third clipper thing…what do you intend to do with it? The Legends are great because they have a very wide lever “throw” – they are more flexible in terms of blade adjustment. This allows for better fading/layering.

The Icon is great for bulk hair cutting and has a better motor than the Super Taper, as it runs on the V9000 one.

Out of the three, my personal preference would still be the Magic Clip. V9000 motor, way less vibrations than the Icon, combines both proper bulk cutting and fading. Almost the same price as the Super Taper.

If you’re in Europe, another person gave me a heads up that some Magic Clips there might be with the V5000 motor. But still, I think it’s the best pick of them all.

Unlike in US, here Wahl Magic Clip comes with V5000 motor. Only Wahl Icon and Wahl Legend that use V9000 motor.I prefer clipper that can cut thick, damp hair, and also good for tapering. So, the final decision is Wahl Magic Clip with V5000 motor?

Yes, the Magic Clip would be my choice. The Icon is great for thicker hair and bulk cuts, but not that great for fading/tapering. The Magic Clip fade blade (same as the Wahl 5 star Senior fade blade, actually) will perform both good tapering and good bulk cuts.